Vikings – Page 276 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Owners Still Committed to Payroll

Posted on August 1, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Vikings president Mark Wilf told Sports Headliners his franchise remains committed to spending money on player personnel despite the franchise’s ongoing attempts to gain approval for a new stadium.

“We want a championship team,” Wilf said.

Vikings owners, led by Mark and his brother Zygi Wilf, have demonstrated a willingness to spend money on high profile players since they became franchise owners in 2005. Expensive deals that brought defensive end Jared Allen and quarterback Brett Favre here gave the Wilfs credibility with fans and media, showing ownership was serious about winning.

The Vikings were 12-4 and within a play or two of the Super Bowl during the 2009 season. Last season team performance deteriorated and the record was 6-10. Parts of the roster have to be both retained and upgraded. Among the payroll tasks will be re-signing Adrian Peterson—perhaps the NFL’s best running back— to a new contract that should place him among the league’s highest paid players.

Vikings owners have spent money in areas beyond personnel. They have funded upgrades at Winter Park and during the NFL labor dispute Vikings ownership kept front office workers employed, rather than laying them off.

“These are great owners,” a prominent Minneapolis businessman said.

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Frazier Expects Vikings to Compete for NFC North Title

Posted on July 29, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

How good of a football team can you have this year?

“I think we can compete again for the NFC North championship. I really do. I know last year didn’t turn out so well for us but I don’t think we’re as far away as some people think.”

Will this team likely be focused more on running the football no matter who is quarterbacking?

“For sure. We’re going to definitely try to use Adrian Peterson as a strength like we have in the past and just make sure that everything starts with Adrian. Hopefully our passing game will feed off of that.”

How do you develop the offensive line?

“You know, we’ve got some guys that we drafted that we think are going to help. Being able to have a healthy Anthony Herrera (guard) will make a difference. A healthy Steve Hutchinson (guard) will make a difference. So if we can get some of our key guys back healthy again, including our center (John) Sullivan, we’ll have a chance to improve our offensive line.”

How much of a difference can leadership make in the wins and losses for a team?

“If you’ve got good leadership in your locker room, you may not have the most talented team, but your leaders can really turn a team around by their attitude and their approach everyday. And that’s the intangible that gets overlooked sometimes when you talk about talent. But great leadership—and I’ve been on teams with great leadership—you can win games with it.”

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Shh! Fumbleless Peterson on a Roll

Posted on December 10, 2010November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Adrian Peterson is fifth among NFL rushers with 1,123 yards, but the number that could be in bold face among his stats is zero fumbles.

What was a hot topic a year ago has almost become forgotten. Peterson had seven fumbles and lost the ball six times during 16 regular season games last year. The year before, 2008, he had nine fumbles, losing four of them.

The fumble numbers hurt and likely so did the public criticism. Peterson is a prideful guy.

He acknowledged in September placing more emphasis on handling the football with care. He said ball security is definitely a “mental” issue and also that running backs coach Eric Bieniemy showed him examples where he fumbled or presented the opportunity to tacklers to knock the ball loose.

“…As far as the physical part, it’s just holding it high,” Peterson said earlier in the season. “I found out by studying myself that when I’m going down I kind of brace myself with the hand I’m carrying the ball in, and that’s leaving opportunities for those guys that are reaching, and scraping and punching for that ball, giving those guys the opportunity to make big plays.”

Vikings cornerback Litto Sheppard played for the Jets last year. When he joined the Vikings he brought perspective on how rival players viewed Peterson. “That was a big thing for Adrian this year to come in and try to protect the ball more,” Sheppard said. “The kind of player that he is and considering how last year ended, with the history of what people think, I think he took it upon himself to take that next step and be a lot better as far as protecting the football and not turning the ball over especially in tough games. He’s done a great job and it shows.

“When I first got over here I mentioned a couple of things to him as far as what…we were scouting him on. I think he’s definitely took heed to some of that. …He’s such a tough runner, (and) he tries to fight for every yard. Once guys got a hold of him they tend to go for the ball. I think he has been more comfortable (this fall) as far as protecting the ball at the first initial contact.”

Sheppard said the approach when he was with the Jets was that when a defender slowed Peterson down “everybody else was going for the ball.” Regardless of whether Peterson faces that strategy this year or not, he’s holding on to the football.

And including this Sunday’s game at home against the Giants he only has to get through four more games to have a perfect goose egg in the fumbles category.

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